An insider recently claimed that Vanderpump Rules could be completely recast with new people from Lisa Vanderpump‘s restaurants, including TomTom and SUR.
As the Bravo reality series remains on pause ahead of its upcoming 12th season, and after James Kennedy, 32, revealed that he hadn’t heard back from producers, the insider suggested that potential newbies were being interviewed for the new episodes.
“I heard that everyone at TomTom and SUR have had multiple interviews with producers and Bravo because they are recasting the entire show with people who actually work at Lisa’s restaurants,” the source revealed to Deux Moi, as seen in a screenshot shared by Queens of Bravo on Instagram.
“Things remain ‘on pause’ as they were after the last season ended,” the Deux Moi source also shared, per OK! Magazine. “[But] any ‘complete recasting’ would be news to the cast and not something that has been discussed.”
Following the sharing of the report, another source told OK! that was not the case, clarifying that “people working at Lisa’s restaurants” are always interviewed ahead of each season — and that those discussions had nothing to do with a complete overhaul of the existing cast.
“Producers are always feeling the people who work at Lisa’s restaurants out to see who is friends with the current cast, who may gel with the cast, and who may have something new to add that the viewers would find interesting,” the insider explained. “However, it’s important for fans to remember that if Vanderpump Rules was to be completely recast, it would be akin to The Real Housewives of New York City — fans would not be invested in the new peoples’ lives and the show would likely go belly up in ratings.”
The insider went on to share that Lisa, 63, likes that Pump Rules is “about her business,” but she knows that’s not why viewers tune in. Instead, they watch because they’ve “invested in the lives of the people on the show” for over a decade.
“People like following stories of people like Lala Kent, James Kennedy, Ariana Madix, and [Scheana Shay],” they continued. “They wouldn’t have the same connection to new people, and at its core, the show is not about a business — it is about this group of friends and their lives.”
According to the report, producers know that if they “remove this group of friends,” there would be “no show.”
No word yet on an official start date for production on Vanderpump Rules season 12.